SpainCivil Guard Aviation

Narrative Summary:
The Guardia Civil (Civil Guard) was founded in 1844 as a highly mobile police force tasked with maintaining order after the uprisings of the First Carlist War. It operates as a gendarmerie with both civil and military functions, in a similar manner to the French Gendarmerie and Italian Carabinieri. In peacetime the organisation operates under the Ministry of the Interior, but in wartime control passes to the Ministry of Defence. In 1972 the Guardia Civil ordered two Bo 105 helicopters, which were delivered on 19 January 1973. Initially, they were based at Cuatro Vientos, but later moved to the FAMET base at Los Remedios. The helicopter force gradually expanded to seven regional bases around the country. In 2008 the first fixed-wing aircraft were obtained, two CN.235MPAs.

Key Dates:

1844

Spanish Civil Guard established.

19 January 1973

First helicopters received.

30 June 2008

First fixed-wing aircraft received.

Current Status:
The current responsibilities of the Guardia Civil include: highway patrol, VIP protection, anti-smuggling and counter-narcotics operations, customs and border security, search and rescue, rural policing and coast guard duties. Civil Guard helicopters are maintained by the Army on behalf of the Civil Guard.

The main marking is displayed on the fuselage sides only on helicopters. The fin flash is displayed on the tailrotor pylon. The national flag is also displayed alongside the fin flash, or on vertical stabilising fins. Fixed wing aircraft do not carry the above national insignia - only the national flag near the top of the tailfin and a large version of the Guardia Civil official logo further down the fin. Both aircraft and helicopters carry GUARDIA CIVIL service titles.

Aircraft Serial Numbering System(s):
Spanish Civil Guard aircraft serials comprise the aircraft type designation followed by a two or three digit individual identity, e.g. Bo 105CB HU.15-81. In addition, Civil Guard helicopters also carry a service numeric code, comprising the numbers 09- and a 3-digit code. The first number of the 3-digit code identifies the aircraft type - 1=Bo 105, 2=BK 117, 3=EC.135, 5=CN.235, e.g. 09-111 for the same Bo 105CB.

Note: Initially Guardia Civil helicopters carried a non-standard code of the form HGC-0x, were HGC was an abbreviation for Helicoptero de la Guardia Civil and x a number between 1 and 6. After 1978 the inter-service codes commencing 09-xxx were adopted.

Current Organisational Structure:
The Guardia Civil is organised into a number of headquarters units and 17 regional Zones, which comprise autonomous geographical groupings of GC units. The Servicio Aéreo is organised into seven helicopter flights and two fixed-wing flights, located at various bases around the country. Rotary wing units have 2-4 helicopters each, while fixed-wing units have only a single aircraft each. Day to day tasking for these units comes from the Regional Zones.

In addition the Servicio Aéreo HQ unit and two training units are based at Torrejon AB.